The Messenger

Release Date: November 13, 2009 (limited; expands: Nov. 20)
Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Director: Oren Moverman
Screenwriter: Oren Moverman, Alessandro Camon
Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R (for language and some sexual content/nudity)
Official Website: Not Available

Plot Summary: In his most powerful performance to date, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival.

Featuring tour-de-force performances from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Oren Moverman, “The Messenger” brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity.